


Heart of an Alpha

by alphabot, reflection0112



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Animal Death, M/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-24 18:05:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9778241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alphabot/pseuds/alphabot, https://archiveofourown.org/users/reflection0112/pseuds/reflection0112
Summary: Kyungsoo is a human, but he was raised by a pack of wolves ever since they found him in the forest. Despite growing up among them, they still see him as weak and different. Except for Joonmyun, that is. When it’s time for Joonmyun to get a mate, Kyungsoo decides that it’s going to be him.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Many, many thanks to the mods for being extra patient with me. I loved this prompt and hope that I did it justice. It’s probably an odd choice to use Yifan as an alternate point of view from Kyungsoo, but I really liked the opening scene I wrote so I went with it. Plus, I wanted to keep Joonmyun’s thoughts a bit of a mystery.
> 
> Edited 03/15/2017

“So, we’re all in agreement,” said Jinki, the chosen spokesperson for the elders assembled there.

Most of those gathered around the Stone of Meeting nodded their assent. Jinki, Jonghyun, Kibum, Minho and Taemin were all in favor of the agreement. The other two present, however, were not. Not that it would change the outcome of the decision anyway. Minseok's opinions on the subject didn't matter at the moment. As High Alpha of the pack, he had no right to vote in the Elder Council except in rare instances of a tie. And with such an overwhelming vote for the decision, Yifan’s vote against it was merely a token of resistance.

“Then it is official,” concluded Jinki. “We look forward to the coming happy festivities, Alpha Minseok.”

With that the meeting was over. They all stood, bowing briefly to Minseok before going their separate ways. Jinki, Jonghyun, and Kibum walked off to make their way back to the village on two legs while Minho and Taemin shifted into their wolves before dashing off deeper into the surrounding woods.

Alone with his Second, Minseok let out a sigh. “Happy festivities indeed,” he muttered. “They aren't the ones who have to tell my son what they have decided.”

“He is getting on in age,” Yifan commented.

“Twenty-six is hardly old, Yifan. You were almost twenty-nine before you went and mated.”

“But I am not an omega.”

Minseok let out of huff of air, “No, you are not. I don't suppose I could get you to do the honors in my stead?

Yifan let out a hearty laugh that rang through the clearing. “Not in your wildest dreams, High Alpha. Even if he’s an omega, you’ve raised your boy to be proud, smart, and strong. That is one conversation I will not be having for you.”

“You did the birds and the bees for me,” Minseok pointed out.

“To my deepest regret.” Yifan shuddered at the memory of sitting the omega boy down and having that extremely uncomfortable talk.

Minseok laughed at the look of horror that passed over the tall alpha’s face. But even that couldn't make the knots in his stomach go away for very long. He was dreading the conversation he would have to have with his eldest son. He knew he'd have no support from his mate. Luhan was largely the reason that the boy was so proud and independent. He would never admit the role he himself might have played in raising an omega so unlike the usual stereotypes.

He took in a deep breath of air and let it escape from him nice and slow. “I suppose I should get it over with,” he said, “before those five let it slip from their well-meaning lips.”

Yifan nodded his agreement. And with that, Minseok, High Alpha of Exo of the Eastern Essem walked off to tell his eldest son, a twenty-six-year-old omega, that the Elder Council had decided it was time for him to take a mate. Watching his retreating figure, Yifan thought he looked like he was marching off to the gallows instead. 

It wasn't too long after Minseok disappeared from view that Yifan broke the silence of the clearing. “You can come out now, Kyungsoo.”

The sound of rustling momentarily filled the air before a young boy dropped down beside Yifan. He's startled, but he managed to stop himself from flinching. He'd known for a while the boy, a young man really, was hidden somewhere around the clearing. But he hadn't expected him to be so close.

“How did you know I was here?” Kyungsoo asked, circling round to stand before his adopted father. 

“I raised you,” Yifan answered. “I would recognize your scent anywhere, no matter how many layers of mud you try to cover up with.”

Yifan let his gaze rake over the mud covered boy, naked except for a small bit of cloth to cover his private parts. It would take a great deal of washing in the river to get himself clean.

He'd been nothing more than a toddler when they had found him in a half-flooded canoe that had gotten caught on the rocks in the river. There had been no sign of the boy's parents, but it didn't take much guesswork to surmise that either one or both of his parents had gone over the falls not even a tree’s length from where the canoe had gotten caught. Yifan had taken him in and raised him as if he were his own pup. It was an oddity, an alpha taking in a pup that was not his own. But Kyungsoo managed to fill the void in his life that had been left behind in the wake of his mate’s death. And he'd been a welcome playmate for Yifan’s real son, Chanyeol.

In all honesty, Yifan has never once regretted the decision to take the human child in. But sometimes, he behaved in ways that were just not wolf-like. Most things were simply because he was not a wolf, and therefore did not have such instincts. But other things, like spying on the Elders as they held council, did not depend on having a wolf or not.

“Are they really going to force him to choose a mate?” Kyungsoo asked.

“I'm afraid so,” Yifan answered.

“But he doesn't want a mate. He told me so himself.”

“It doesn't matter, son.”

“But why? It's not like he's going to become the next High Alpha. His brother is, because his brother is an alpha and he's an omega.”

Yifan bit down the annoyance that flickered through him. Kyungsoo was a human, and humans were known to be full of curiosity. The kid had forever asked him “why” at least fifty times a day while growing up. That he had carried such curiosity and attitude into his adulthood was at least partly Yifan’s own fault.

“Omegas should have a mate by his age.”

“But he doesn't like any of the alphas or betas here. You can't force him to like someone.”

“That's just the way it is. He's luckily to have made it this far without being mated. If he were anyone other than the High Alpha’s son he'd already be taken.”

“That doesn't seem right,” Kyungsoo says.

“That's just the way it is.” Yifan said in a tone that meant that he was done talking about the matter. He didn't feel like explaining himself or their customs. By Yifan's best guess, Kyungsoo was somewhere between twenty and twenty-five years of age, he’d had more than enough years to learn them by now.

“Wash off in the river,” he said as he turned to make his own way back to the village. “But don't take too long. I don't want to have to send Chanyeol out after you again.” He doesn’t even have to watch his son’s face to know that it’s contorted at the very thought that his big brother would be sent out after him as if he were a pup.

-

Joonmyun, eldest son of High Alpha Minseok, did not take the news well. Not at all. The first indication was the shrill scream that had resounded through the woods an hour before dusk. It had pierced the tranquility of a forest settling in for the night and frightened a number of its inhabitants. The second indication was his absence at dinner that evening when the pack would all gather around the bonfires and partake in the evening meal together as one large extended family.

The third indication was his continued surly attitude throughout the days that followed. Joonmyun was usually a happy and smiley type of person, but his face seemed to be drawn into a perpetual frown lately. He was also short on patience, quick to snap at anyone who had the misfortune of having to speak to him.

Eventually, Luhan, although sympathetic to his son’s feelings, had to take him aside to lecture him on the proper way to deal with such feelings. The lecture, however, did more harm than good, setting off the omega all over again. Kyungsoo could see the reason why though. He himself would not have appreciated being pulled aside and lectured as if he were a child, and he was only twenty-three, or somewhere around that age. Joonmyun was twenty-six, way past an age to be lectured at.

Still, Joonmyun was being rather stubborn about it. The omega had already gotten away with so much, being allowed to remain unmated at such an age. Kyungsoo thinks he should have seen it coming. No matter his feelings on the matter, Joonmyun would never be allowed to remain unmated. Even if he would never rule the pack, he had to do his part to continue the bloodlines of the pack, both as an omega and as offspring of the High Alpha.

The thought of Joonmyun mated upset Kyungsoo. He didn't like it one bit. Joonmyun was one of the few members of the pack who treated him as an equal. Everyone else thought him weak and incapable. They thought of him as no more than a perpetual pup, ever in need of being looked after and cared for. It was worse than being an omega, really, thought Kyungsoo, for even they thought themselves above him. 

Kyungsoo had tried to prove his worth to the pack. He'd tried to prove that he was just as valuable to them as any other member of the pack. He might not have been as swift as a wolf, but he could run just as far as any of them. And he'd learned to hunt too, took down game as large as any of them. But still they looked down at him, for he needed to use a bow and arrow, needed a knife fashioned from a bit metal he'd once found in order to make a kill.

But Joonmyun didn't look down upon him. If anything he was the only one who accepted Kyungsoo for who he was. His father and brother professed to also treating him as such, but they were family. And truth be told, sometimes that made it all the more harder for them to see him as an equal, as an adult of full standing. Kyungsoo knew that Chanyeol would forever look at him as his kid brother who needed to be protected and watched over. And to his father he would always be the little boy he'd found in a canoe. But then again, his father also always saw Chanyeol as a pup who was still waiting to grow into his body.

No, only Joonmyun, the kind-hearted but fiercely independent omega saw him as anything other than the human pup of Yifan, Second to the High Alpha of Exo of the Eastern Essem. The thought that someone would take him as a mate, would claim him as his own made Kyungsoo upset. He’d lose his closest friend, for even if the alpha did not forbid Joonmyun from seeing Kyungsoo anymore, things would never be the same again.

It's with those melancholy thoughts that Kyungsoo happens to come across Joonmyun near the river where he'd been found all those years ago. The omega had taken to sulking alone, not that anyone would say the term “sulking” to his face. He'd disappear for hours on end, alone by himself in the forest.

“Oh,” says Kyungsoo. It wasn't the most welcoming of greetings. But he didn't expect to see him here of all places as this was Kyungsoo’s private sanctuary. As close as they were, Joonmyun didn't usually intrude on it. Kyungsoo also didn't know what else to say to the omega either.

“I'm sorry,” Joonmyun says. “I needed a place to think and the woods are starting to get a bit…” he paused, searching for the word. “Crowded,” he settles on.

Kyungsoo smiles and nods his head. Many of the eligible alphas, some of the more wishful betas, and even a few already mated wolves with delusions had taken to trying to impress Joonmyun. They had been subtle at first, quiet feats of strength that could be somewhat disguised as commonplace activities that took place in the activity of daily life. But ever since Minseok had officially given notice, such “mating dances,” as Kyungsoo has dubbed them, have been more overt and obvious.

“It's alright,” Kyungsoo says. He settles down a respectable distance away from Joonmyun, not too far away that the distance would be obvious, but not too close either.

“I suppose you've heard the news,” Joonmyun says once Kyungsoo is seated. He waits for Kyungsoo to nod his head in response before continuing. “I am to mated.”

“Your father is letting you choose, though.” Kyungsoo points out.

It was true, the final decision on who would be his mate would ultimately rest with Joonmyun. But that's not how Joonmyun saw it. “The Elder Council is letting me choose from the victors of the next ceremonial hunt.”

Joonmyun might have said “victors,” and it was entirely possible that there could be more than one. But it was a rare event that such a thing would occur. More than likely there would only be one victor at the ceremonial hunt, which meant that Joonmyun would really have only one choice really, to accept whoever won the hunt. He could also choose to reject the victor, choose someone else as his mate, but even Kyungsoo didn't want to fathom the repercussions of that.

Joonmyun suddenly changed the topic. “Do you ever wonder what your life might have been like if they had taken you back?”

His question is so out of the blue and unexpected that Kyungsoo doesn't answer him right away. Joonmyun even has to repeat the question for him. “Sometimes,” he admits. He cannot help but wonder about it. Growing up, it was constant thought in his head as he would fall asleep. Now, however, it's merely a distant thought. Because now he knows better.

“Do you ever wish that they had?” Joonmyun continues, as if he could read Kyungsoo’s mind, as if he'd known the path his thoughts had taken. 

“No,” he answers. And it's true, for while he might have been born elsewhere, the forest is all he knows. For all his wonderings about a life lived elsewhere, how could he ever learn to love someplace else? This is all he knows.

“Really? I hear that they have water that flows inside their homes, and little suns that light up during the night, and things with funny legs that they can ride.”

“But I wouldn't have my father or Chanyeol.” Or you, he almost says. He doesn't know where the thought comes from, but he doesn't know why he stopped himself from saying it either.

“But you could find a pretty female, settle down and have pups.”

Kyungsoo laughs. “They’re called kids, or babies. And I don't think I'd have any of my own if I were there.”

“Why not?”

“Because,” Kyungsoo says, “human males don't bear pups.”

“Oh,” comes Joonmyun's reply.

“Blame Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo mutters under his breath. Kyungsoo has never really talked about it with anyone before, but being raised in a community where males, at least certain ones, could bear pups has broadened his views of things. Plus, Chanyeol was his older brother. They'd spent many a day while growing up sitting and watching all the omegas pass by. Research, Chanyeol had called it. Chanyeol had tended to flip flop back and forth between preferring male and female omegas, while Kyungsoo’s eyes had always seemed to favor ones with less curves, the ones that looked like…

The ones that looked like Joonmyun.

So that's why Kyungsoo was feeling so weird, why he was so upset at Joonmyun taking a mate. It wasn't because he'd lose his friend. He didn't want Joonmyun to mate with anyone because he wanted the omega for himself.

But did he love him? Joonmyun had once told Kyungsoo that he's never chosen a mate because he wanted to mate for love, not because of nature’s instinct to breed. So did he love Joonmyun? Did he love the omega that way, As a lover and not as a friend? He doesn't fully have time to come up with an answer to that question before Joonmyun throws him another one.

“Is Chanyeol courting anyone?” 

Kyungsoo stares at Joonmyun, his eyes wide with surprise. Was he really asking that right now? Was he really interested in his older brother? “No,” he answers, despite some strange desire to lie.

Joonmyun nods, he knows how close Kyungsoo and Chanyeol are. If Chanyeol had expressed interest in any omega Kyungsoo would no doubt be the first to know. Now that he thinks about it, his brother was in his prime. Although younger than Joonmyun by a few years, he'd make a good mate for him. Chanyeol was tall and muscular, good at fighting and hunting. But he was also funny and happy, kind and generous. He was everything any omega would want in a mate. He was everything Joonmyun could ask for.

Even still, despite knowing all of that, Kyungsoo can't help himself from adding onto his answer. His newfound revelation that he wants the omega for himself compels him to. “Not that I know of,” he says.

Joonmyun considers the extra comment for a moment before standing to his feet. “I’d better head back before my father sends out his scouts to look for me,” he says. “Don't stay out too late. The sun is going to set in a couple of hours.”

He doesn't say it, but Kyungsoo hears it anyway. It's so automatic, the warning so commonplace that his mind just fills in the missing words when people leave it unsaid. Don't stay out too late, because Chanyeol will come looking for you if you don't show at the bonfires. As Kyungsoo watches the omega leave, he realizes that Joonmyun doesn't say the second half not because he knows Kyungsoo knows it anyway, but because the actually means the words he does say. He really did care more about the fact that the sun would set soon rather than Chanyeol having to go looking for him.

It's a nice feeling, to be thought as capable. To be thought of as an equal. It makes him want Joonmyun all he more.

-

Kyungsoo returns to the pack just as the final rays of light leave the vast expanse of the sky. Chanyeol, ever the watchful older brother, has saved him a seat. Dinner is served and consumed with all the fun and laughter that comes with eating together as a large pack, but Kyungsoo’s thoughts never stray too far from Joonmyun. His eyes constantly find their way over to where he’s seated next to his own family. Luhan is fussing over Minseok, who is trying to have a conversation with Elder Kibum.

Chanyeol and Kyungsoo used to sit closer to the high family. As the Second of the pack, Yifan and his family’s place was right in the midst of the High Alpha’s family. But the teasing and other comments from others Kyungsoo’s age had led Kyungsoo to edge further and further away until he’d eventually settled in amongst Elder Minho’s family. They were less caustic in their remarks. Chanyeol, always the alpha big brother had simply followed after Kyungsoo.

In all, it's a lovely evening. The chill of winter had finally disappeared from air and spring had made itself known. Soon enough summer would make stake its claim on the land. Kyungsoo and Chanyeol pass the time with Yixing and Jongdae, Minho’s sons. Yixing had already made it known that he intended to be a contender for the right to mate Joonmyun, while Jongdae had yet to make public if he would do so too.

The fires had begun to burn low before Kyungsoo decides to call it a night. As he and Chanyeol walked the well-worn path to his family’s cabin, they joked and spoke of how Sehun had made himself a fool tonight. The young alpha had tried to display his strength by engaging in a wrestling match with Jongin, Joonmyun’s alpha of a younger brother. When he had accidentally bumped into Zitao in his excitement, Sehun had suddenly found himself pinned to the ground by the feisty omega. He’d tried to wrestle himself free, but Zitao’s grip was fierce.

“Not that it matters much, in the scheme of things,” said Chanyeol as he rambled on. “Sehun is still a mighty fine hunter. He’s largely favored by many in the pack to win Joonmyun’s hand in the hunt.”

The comment does little to set Kyungsoo at ease, if anything it dampens his thoughts even more. But Chanyeol is well liked by the pack, his circle of friends wide enough to usually be in the know about such pack gossip. He wonders who else is thought to be a contender for Joonmyun’s hand. The list couldn't be very long, for even if every eligible alpha or beta participated in the hunt, only a few would stand a chance at winning.

He doesn't get to ask his question though, for a voice calls out. Away from the light of the fires, Kyungsoo can't see him, his human eyes are nowhere near as good as a wolf’s eyes. But he'd know that voice anywhere. It’s Joonmyun. It's Joonmyun calling out for Chanyeol.

“Chanyeol,” he says as he catches up to them. He stops further away from them then one usually would. “Could I speak to you.”

Even without the words, Joonmyun's stance and distance conveys that he means to speak privately. That this is something that Kyungsoo is not to be a part of. Perhaps for the first time in his life, Kyungsoo finds himself jealous of his brother in a way that has nothing to do with him being a wolf and Kyungsoo not. He’s jealous because of what such a private conversation might imply. He’s jealous because if he made an effort, Chanyeol would stand a chance at gaining Joonmyun’s hand while he does not. He's jealous because he wants the omega’s affections for himself.

Kyungsoo says his goodnight to Joonmyun and continues on his way to the cabin. It’s not very far, but it might as well have been on the other side of the forest. He can make out the dark forms of the two as they talk in the night, far enough away to be mere forms that blend into the shadows of a forest at night. Slipping inside, Kyungsoo busies himself by getting ready to turn in. He tries to pay no heed to how long Chanyeol and Joonmyun talk. Only his pride and stubborn will power prevents him from pulling back the curtain to look for them in the window. That, and the fact that his weak human eyes wouldn't see them anyway.

When door opens and it's his father and not Chanyeol who enters, he can't deny that it makes him angry. Jealousy isn't only human emotion, nor is it only a wolf emotion. It's an emotion that all creatures share. He just never thought he'd feel such an emotion about his brother. But here he was, lying in his bed, envious of what will never be his, and other feelings he can't quite name yet.

-

Two days later, the feelings haven't gone away. If anything, they have grown. Kyungsoo’s eyes watch Joonmyun, find their way over to the omega no matter where he is or what he’s doing. But so do the eyes of everyone else in the pack. They can't help but want to watch the show. As the night of the ceremonial hunt draws nearer, so too do the displays of courtship from want to be suitors.

Most of them stand no chance, and they all know it too. But Kyungsoo supposes that it’ll be something for them to brag about on the years to come. “I was a competitor for the hand of Kim Joonmyun,” they’ll be able to say. No doubt the tales will twist and turn with the passage of them, but at the least that part will be true.

Needing to get away from all the attention, Joonmyun had stolen Kyungsoo to join him in hunting in the meadows on the western side of the forest. For a while, it was just the two of them alone in the world. It all felt like it used to, felt like two friends out enjoying what the world had to offer.

“I can't believe you got more than me,” Joonmyun whines. He had only managed to get a single hare while Kyungsoo had killed three.

“You were distracted,” Kyungsoo says.

That much is obvious. While three is normal for Kyungsoo, on the smaller end but still normal, Joonmyun’s single catch is a pitiful showing for the wolf. He usually manages to match him.

“No, you cheated somehow,” Joonmyun counters back.

“How do you cheat in hunting?” Kyungsoo asks.

“I don't know, but I'm sure that you did.” Joonmyun is wearing a pout and Kyungsoo can't help but find the look adorable on the omega’s face.

He smiles and hands one of his hares to Joonmyun, offering him one so that they’ll return even handed. “It's impossible to cheat in a hunt. That's why everyone uses it to decide important matters.”

It's barely there, only the smallest of references to the upcoming event that will forever seal Joonmyun’s fate. But its approaching date means it is at the forefront of the omega’s mind, so it stands out as clearly as if Kyungsoo had just come out and said it. The mood immediately takes a turn, whatever happiness and escape Joonmyun had found are erased by a careless comment from Kyungsoo.

“I'm sorry, Joonmyun,” he apologizes. “I didn't mean-”

“It's okay, Soo.” Joonmyun says, cutting him off. “I know you didn't mean anything by it. And you're probably right, it probably is why the Elders chose the ceremonial hunt. Whoever winds up the victor will have a hard time having his victory challenged.”

They walk in silence for a bit, the distant sounds of the pack going about their daily evening activities filling the space between them. Kyungsoo’s going to miss this, is going to miss the easy companionship and friendship he has with the older omega. He hopes that whatever they end up having afterwards will be something, even if it will never be enough. He hopes that whoever wins Joonmyun's hand will treat him right, the way that Kyungsoo would surely treat him if he were to win.

He desperately wants to ask Joonmyun about it, if he's given any thought to the matter. As much as the answers will hurt him, he wants to know, because he wants to be there for the omega. Even if they can never be more than what they are now, they will always be friends.

“Have you thought about it at all? Is there anyone you want to win?”

Joonmyun doesn't answer, doesn't even make any indication that he heard him. He probably overstepped his bounds, he figures. He has no place asking about it. For he's a human, not a wolf. If anything, this whole ordeal has only served to cement just how much of an outsider Kyungsoo really is in his own home. But eventually Joonmyun stops his walking to study the two hares in his hands. Kyungsoo stops as well, watching as Joonmyun holds them up to compare the two.

One is practically pristine, a single perfect shot to the hare’s chest that instantly stilled his beating heart. The other was a bit more mangled, blood around the hare’s neck and his neck bent at an awkward angle.

“Joonmyun?” Kyungsoo says.

He looks up and fixes his eyes on Kyungsoo. “The outcome will not be what I want it to be.”

Kyungsoo feels his heart ache a little at how resigned he looks, how accepting of his fate he already is. “You could always refuse,” he says despite knowing that is not an option. The comment brings a snort of amusement from Joonmyun, one that doesn't manage to erase the sadness in his eyes.

So Kyungsoo offers another option, even crazier than his first. “We could run away, right now. You and me, together. We can run away and they'd never find us. You can live the life you've always wanted Joonmyun. I'd make sure of it.”

This time Joonmyun actually laughs. “A human pup and an omega? We'd barely last a day before they'd catch us.” He starts walking again. “Besides, that would be dishonorable. And even you could never do that, even if you are just a human.”

“Joonmyun,” says a new voice, stepping out onto the path out of the underbrush. It's Chanyeol, of course. Who else would come looking for them. But it had been Joonmyun’s name he'd called, not Kyungsoo’s.

He stops a few steps away from the pair and clears his throat. “I've thought about you said,” he starts. For the second time that afternoon the mood turns, and even Kyungsoo can sense the tension that settles in between them all. It doesn’t take wolf-like senses to feel it. Chanyeol’s gaze briefly flickers over to Kyungsoo before he fixes it upon Joonmyun. He clears his throat once again as if whatever he’s about to say is difficult for him. “I have my answer,” he says.

Kyungsoo waits for it, but it doesn’t come. It takes him a moment to figure out why, and only when he realizes that both Joonmyun and Chanyeol are looking at him expectantly does he figure it out. They want him to leave. Because this isn’t a conversation he needs to be part of.

“I’ll, um, see you two later,” he says. He quickly shouldered his two remaining hares and stalked off back towards to the cooking fires where the other omegas would be preparing the evening meal. Joonmyun and Chanyeol probably said something in reply to him, but he didn’t hear it. All he could hear was the last three words Joonmyun had said to him. 

He's “just a human,” and because of that he can't have what he wants. But Chanyeol could.

He’d tried to deny it, but now the pieces are coming together in ways that are too obvious to ignore. Joonmyun seeking Chanyeol out a few nights past, and now Chanyeol seeking him out with an answer. Joonmyun wants Chanyeol to make a play for his hand, and Chanyeol will no doubt accept. Even if Kyungsoo knows that Chanyeol would be a good mate to Joonmyun, knows that there really is no other alpha that Kyungsoo could imagine a better fit for the omega, he still can’t help but want it to be him instead. But if had to be someone else - and truly that is in fact how it has to be - there is no other alpha that Kyungsoo would choose.

Despite knowing this, Kyungsoo can’t help the anger the burns within him. It’s more than just jealousy, though. It’s anger at the whole situation. Joonmyun won’t be able to get what he wants, but he’s negotiating anyway. He’s settling. Joonmyun shouldn’t have to settle, he should have the world at his feet.

If only Kyungsoo could be the one to provide it.

-

The news spreads like a wildfire. By noon the next day there isn’t anyone who doesn’t know that Chanyeol has made his intentions known. The pack is alight with talk about how this new development will play out. Chanyeol would no doubt win any contest that requires feats of strength. But in things such as a hunt, there was always the element of luck that could not be denied. This was the other reason that a hunt was often used to settle arguments. Not only because it was almost impossible to cheat in, but because of the role providence played in choosing a victor. Fate was a hard thing to argue against.

The door of the cabin suddenly flew open with a bang against the wall, jarring Kyungsoo out of his wandering thoughts. Such excessive force makes Kyungsoo think it's Chanyeol coming home. But instead he is met with the sight of his father limping in, Elder Jonghyun and his son Baekhyun on either side of him serving as temporary crutches.

“Dad! What happened?” he cries out in alarm, quickly pulling out a chair from the table for Yifan in sit in.

“It's just a simple sprain,” his father says. The look of pain on his face says otherwise though. 

Luckily, Jonghyun provides a more truthful answer. “Nearly twisted his ankle playing with Yoona’s pups,” he says. “You'd think he were a young pup with the amount of whining he did. I mean, seriously Yifan, how do even call yourself an alpha.”

“It's fine.” Yifan says dismissively. “I'll be as new by the morning.”

“What were you doing playing with pups in the middle of the day?” Kyungsoo asks. His father loved pups, that much was true, but as an Elder he had other responsibilities that should be occupying his time during the day.

“We were taking a census.”

“A census?” Not an answer Kyungsoo was expecting. “What for?”

“For the ceremonial hunt,” answers Jonghyun. “All pack members of age are eligible to participate, and custom dictates that a census be taken prior to the hunt to determine who is eligible.”

“It’s not like it matters anyway,” Baekhyun says. “There's only a handful that even stand a chance of winning. I don't know why so many are even trying.” His comments have just the slightest bit of annoyance to them. Kyungsoo understands why though. Baekhyun is still unmated. With most eligible alphas and betas aiming to participate in the hunt, it'll be hard to view anyone’s advances afterwards as anything other than settling for second best. No one wants to be second choice.

“It's not all about winning,” says Jonghyun. “Take Krystal, that omega girl, for example.”

That’s news to Kyungsoo. “Krystal is participating?”

The two elders nod their heads. “Yes,” says Jonghyun. “But she only wants to participate to get a reaction out of Jongin.”

“She wants the alpha boy to make a public claim on her,” adds his father.

“But she’s a girl,” says Kyungsoo, as if it was something no one else had noticed.

“Doesn't matter,” Jonghyun says. “She's of age and unmated, that's all the law requires. Speaking of which,” Jonghyun pulls out at folder from where he'd stuck it into the waist of his pants and pulls out an official looking paper. “Since you won't be joining me in making any more rounds this afternoon, why don't we just get your family off of the list.”

He puts it down on the counter and hands Yifan a pen. Kyungsoo watches as his father filled out the next row on the paper. When he’s done, Jonghyun picks it up and looks at it.

“Wu Yifan, three family members, three of age, two unmated.” He looks over the top of the paper at Yifan. “You sure you want to register yourself as being mated? She’s been gone for a long time now.”

“I am not making a play for Joonmyun’s hand.” Yifan growls out. “The boy is young enough to be my son. Hell, I helped raise him. Sometimes he feels like he is one of mine.”

“Fair enough,” Jonghyun says jovially. “I guess it would be kind of odd competing against your own son. Kibum says he's one of the favorites to win. I didn't even know he was interested in the boy. He should have made a play for him long ago if that was the case.”

“He isn't,” mutters Baekhyun. Maybe it's because Kyungsoo wishes it were true, but there's something about the tone in Baekhyun’s barely audible comment that makes him wonder if the omega might have had his eye on Chanyeol before recent events. But he doesn't elaborate, just puts on a big grin that may or may not be a little forced and leaves to help his father continue the census.

Kyungsoo sets about making sure his father is comfortable. He’s already well on his way to being fully healed, one of the perks of being a wolf. But Jonghyun was right about one thing, Yifan may have professed to being able to handle the pain, but in reality he whines about it like a baby.

It's not until hours later when Chanyeol is home and taking a turn tending to their father that the significance of the census hits him. His father had said there were three members of the household with two being unmated. But Jonghyun had said that Yifan's hadn't counted himself as one of them. By simple mathematics, that left Chanyeol and Kyungsoo.

The words that Elder Jonghyun had spoken earlier in the day about Krystal replay in his head: “She’s of age and unmated, that’s all the law requires.”

He is of age. And he’s definitely without a mate. Hypothetically he could also enter as a participant in the ceremonial hunt. If that was all that was required, then he was eligible. The only real question was if the pack would let him, if they would accept his entry. That, and what would they think about it?

Those are the thoughts that circle round in his head that evening. Even as he joins the rest of the pack around the bonfires, they never really leave his mind. Even as he listens to Jongdae make fun of Sehun again for presenting Joonmyun with a badly constructed flower wreath, even as he watches Amber make public her own intentions to compete in the hunt, and even as he watches Chanyeol cross over to present Joonmyun with a prime piece of deer from his own plate.

It's only as he notices the smile slip from Baekhyun’s face as he watched Chanyeol and Joonmyun together that he realizes that it doesn’t matter what the pack thinks about it. He was old enough and didn’t have a mate. And most importantly, he’d been counted in the census.

Kyungsoo sneaks away from the activity around fires and heads off by himself. He doesn’t care that his father will likely give him a lecture about going off by himself at night, and no doubt Chanyeol will somehow sniff him out before too long. He doesn’t care about those things at all. He’s eligible for Joonmyun’s hand. He can add his name to the list of suitors, he can actually do something instead of wallow around in self-pity.

Even if he doesn’t win, even if he doesn’t end up as Joonmyun’s mate, at least he’ll have done something. He has a week to get ready. A week to make sure he’s at his best. And then it’ll be up to the gods of circumstance to determine if he’s worthy or not.

-

Yifan knew something was up. His normally cheerful household had been replaced by a quiet and sullen one. True, it wasn’t always sunshine and roses in his home. But such stormy weather did not usually last so long, nor take a turn for the worse. As it was, Yifan knew that Kyungsoo had been upset about Joonmyun being forced to take a mate. He had a soft spot for the older omega, so that bleeding into their home’s mood was expected. But just when things seemed to be returning to normal, that Kyungsoo had grown to accept that his friend would be mated, Chanyeol had gone and publically declared that he would compete in the ceremonial hunt and vie for the right to mate the omega.

Yifan had been unprepared for that. Joonmyun and Chanyeol had grown up together, they were practically brothers. Luhan had often stepped in to fill the role of mother in both his son’s lives, and Yifan would sometimes play the father role for Joonmyun and Jongin while Minseok was away on business. Surely if there had been a spark of them being mates it would have flared to life sometime in all their years together. Why would his son wait until Joonmyun was being sold to the highest bidder? Yifan knew that wasn’t exactly the best way to describe it, but it had been the best analogy he had come up with in his opposition to the other elders in the council so he was going to stick with it.

Kyungsoo had at first seemed to take the unexpected news in stride. Yifan had expected for his younger son to be sullen and sulk about it. But Kyungsoo had seemed normal the morning after Chanyeol had come home and made his announcement. But between morning and evening on that day something had changed. The atmosphere was anything but happy, no matter what he or Chanyeol tried to do. And while he’d always been quiet and somewhat reserved growing up, he’d never been openly hostile. It was as if Kyungsoo had pinned all of his anger and resentment at Chanyeol. At any moment he fully expected Kyungsoo to burst out and shout something along the lines of Joonmyun being his before he was Chanyeol’s. 

To top it all off, Kyungsoo had taken to going off by himself, something that he knew made Yifan worry. Yifan knew Kyungsoo didn’t like it, but Yifan worried about him more than he worried about Chanyeol. How could he not? Kyungsoo was a human in a forest full of wolves. He used to make his older son follow the younger one around all day until they’d come to a compromise of sorts. Kyungsoo wouldn’t go off by himself for longer than a few hours at a time, and never ever when it was dark outside. But lately Kyungsoo was gone practically all day. Sometimes he was gone before the sun was up and wouldn’t return until long after the sun had set.

He knew the exact moment Kyungsoo would return, sneaking into the hustle and bustle of the entire pack gathered around the bonfires at night. But when he’d asked Kyungsoo where he’d been, the boy had claimed to have been there all night long, and that the smoke must have just covered up his scent. Lying was something that Kyungsoo had never done before, not to him.

He was going to get to the bottom of it. Today, he decided. The ceremonial hunt would be all day tomorrow, and most of the evening as well. That meant that most pack members would either be too busy getting ready for coming festivities or resting up for them. He could afford to skip his duties as elder for a day. As luck would have it, today would be a day that Kyungsoo is gone long before Yifan wakes up that morning. He quickly grabs something to eat before heading off to find the boy. He decides to do it as a wolf, he’ll be better able to track his scent that way.

It takes him nearly all morning. Kyungsoo had taken great pains to cover up his scent. Under different circumstances, Yifan would be proud of his son. But right now, he’s merely growing annoyed at how long it had taken him to find him. He’d almost lost it a few times, but as he’d told the boy only a few short weeks ago, he’d recognize his scent anywhere.

In hindsight, he probably should have made a bit more noise in his approach. But he hadn’t expected Kyungsoo to be practicing his shot with his bow and arrow, nor the unfortunate possibility that he might just pop up right in the line of fire. It misses him by at least a hand's breadth, but it still gives him surprise.

“Dad!” Kyungsoo cries out, dropping his next arrow and running over to Yifan. At least the boy recognized his own father.

Yifan quickly shifts back into a man, raising himself to his full height to look down at his son. Despite his momentary scare, he remains committed to getting to the bottom of things. “What are you doing out here?” he says. He throws the full weight of his alpha power into the question. Kyungsoo may not respond to it like a wolf would, but he knows the tone enough to recognize it when he hears it. He immediately bows his head in submission, bearing the back of his neck to his father, yet he stubbornly remains quiet.

“I asked you a question, son.”

“I'm practicing,” answers Kyungsoo.

“Practicing for what?” Yifan's asks.

Kyungsoo raises his head to look Yifan's in the eye. There's a hardness to his eyes, a look of pure determination. But he still doesn't give him an answer. Doesn't matter though, for Yifan can put the pieces together. “You're going to enter the hunt,” he says.

It's not a question, and Kyungsoo doesn't treat it as such. He doesn't even flinch or betray any look of guilt as he slowly nods his head and offers a verbal admission to the statement. “I am,” he says.

Yifan looks his son over, takes in his appearance. He’s small, but having lived amongst wolves his whole life has made his muscles toned and well developed. He's definitely strong for his size, almost deceptively so. And though he may not have wolf-like reflexes, his stamina could not be overlooked. But he was still undeniably not a wolf.

Yifan lets out a sigh and runs a hand through his dark locks. “I won't deny it, Kyungsoo. The wolf in me is proud, proud that you're so brave and fearless.” The admission makes Kyungsoo stand just a bit taller. “But the father in me says otherwise. You're just a boy, Kyungsoo. A human boy.”

Kyungsoo deflated a little at the statement. But he shakes his head, drawing a figurative line in the sand. “You're wrong dad,” he says. “I'm not a boy anymore. I'm a man.”

“Just a man,” Yifan says.

“But a man, nonetheless.” Kyungsoo brings himself back to full attention, the way that young alphas would stand when trying to impress someone.

Yifan sighs and takes a long hard look at his son. Kyungsoo doesn't back down, doesn't let go of Yifan’s gaze for a second. The look of resolve in his features is a handsome look, Yifan thinks. He'd like to think it is something he'd gotten from Yifan, but the truth is that it most likely wasn't. Whoever the boy’s real father must have been, he must have been an alpha among men, a leader in his own way.

Yifan is the first to blink. “I don't want you to get hurt, Kyungsoo. There is very little chance that this will end the way that you want it to.”

“I still have to try,” Kyungsoo says. “I couldn't live with myself if I didn't. Joonmyun deserves someone who will take care of him, who will cherish him for the rest of his life. He deserves the best.”

“And you that person is you?”

Kyungsoo swallows and squares his shoulders again. He looks every bit the way he might have had he been a wolf, had he been an alpha, strong and proud. “Yes,” he says.

Yifan softens his stance. He knows there is no use in arguing with his son. But the father in him needs to say something, still needs to advise and counsel the man who would always be his baby boy. “Why?” he says.

“Because…” Kyungsoo says. The response was quick, almost automatic. But it's clear that Kyungsoo doesn't have a real answer. He can't bring himself to finish the statement. He settled on repeating himself. “He deserves the best.”

“I think you need to find the answer to that question, Kyungsoo.” Yifan says. It's all he can think of, all his years of parenting his two sons and Minseok’s two boys and it’s all he can come up with.

Nothing left to say, Yifan backs away out of the clearing. “Don't stay out too late,” he says. “You’ll need a good sleep if you're to be your best tomorrow.” That said, he shifts back into his wolf and leaves his son to his practicing.

He knew he’d had good reason to oppose the Elder Council’s decision. He just didn't realize that it would put his own two sons against each other. Even if he now knew the reason for Kyungsoo’s mood, it did little to settle his mind. The sense of worry that he'd felt all week has evolved into something else. He'd already figured out what he would say to console Chanyeol if he did not win the hunt tomorrow. But he has no idea what he'd say to Kyungsoo, because he knows that Kyungsoo is pinning so much more on the results of the hunt than Chanyeol is.

He prays to the moon that she be kind tomorrow. But something in his heart tells him tomorrow will not be kind to his family.

-

Morning comes all too soon for Yifan. He'd stayed up late last night, waiting for Kyungsoo to return. Despite his reminder about needing a good night’s rest, Kyungsoo had stayed out until almost midnight. He didn't even show up at the bonfires for the evening meal. It had taken everything within Yifan to hold Chanyeol back from going looking for the human boy when he still had yet to make an appearance after the fires had burned low.

The alpha within his son nearly rebelled against Yifan’s request to let Kyungsoo be. Chanyeol loved Kyungsoo as much as he would a brother born of the same blood, and Yifan loved him as much as he were his own flesh and blood. But this was something that Kyungsoo needed to do for himself. This was Kyungsoo proving to the pack that he belonged here, that he was as good as any other wolf out there. So much seemed to be riding on the outcome of this ceremonial hunt. He only hoped his family survived it.

For that matter, he hopes Joonmyun makes it through the ceremony as well. For the first time, Yifan observed Joonmyun the way a father-in-law would. He watched the way that Joonmyun’s eyes always seemed to seek out his sons in the busyness of the entire pack gathered around the bonfires. Whereas before, he'd would have merely thought it was because of Joonmyun's friendship with his sons. But now, it seems there is more to the story. He knows that something transpired between Joonmyun and Chanyeol, something to make his oldest son enter the hunt for the omega's hand.

But there's something about the way Joonmyun’s face falls into a frown when he realizes that Kyungsoo is missing from the fires that night. He wonders if maybe there is more to the story of why Joonmyun hadn't taken a mate yet. So many unspoken words seem to float in the air that evening, and none of them seem to be understood. Instead they are lost to the night, as if they were leaves that were burned in the bonfires and turned to smoke.

Despite his desires to stay home and get his sons ready, being an elder means he has other duties to attend to that morning. He knows Chanyeol is going to get ready with Yixing. Jongdae would be helping them, for he had chosen not to enter the hunt. But he wants to be there for Kyungsoo. He wants to be there for the son who must feel so alone right now.

An hour before the hunt is slated to start, he rudely dumps the remainder of his duties on Taemin and rushed back home to his family’s cabin. Kyungsoo may not have been born of him, but he was the boy’s father in every way that mattered. He needed to be there for his son right now, he needed to let the boy know that he was not alone.

He arrived just as Kyungsoo was mixing the ingredients for the red paint that would go on his chest and face. Kyungsoo is surprised, and it makes Yifan’s heart hurt that he would feel as such.

“Here,” he says, reaching out to take the thick red paste from his hands. “Let me.”

No other words are said, but it's a good thing the paint is largely waterproof because the gesture brings tears to Kyungsoo’s eyes. Tears of his own fall from Yifan’s as he paints the traditional symbols of their pack on his son.

“No matter what,” Yifan says as he puts the finishing touches on. “You will always be my boy, Kyungsoo. You will always belong here.”

He pulls him into what is probably the fiercest hug he's ever given and then helps Kyungsoo put on a robe to cover his upper body until the ceremony begins. He takes a step back to look at the boy. No he thinks, he is looking not at a boy, not any longer. He is looking at a young man. He looks every bit like he should, dressed in his finest robe, the worn leather of his pants fitting him like a second skin. He does wish Kyungsoo would put on some shoes, but none of the other wolves will be wearing any, so Kyungsoo won't do so either. Never mind that the others will shift into their wolf forms shortly after the opening ceremony. Kyungsoo looked every part of a young wolf.

“I love you, dad.” Kyungsoo says.

“I love you more,” he says back. And then it's time to go.

-

Kyungsoo waits until the last possible moment drop his robe and step out from the crowd to declare himself a participant of the hunt. It sets off a firestorm of whispers, exactly as he knew it would. But he doesn't let it deter him one bit.

He holds his head up high, standing as tall as he can. He opens his mouth to declare it out loud, makes his intentions public for the whole pack to hear. “I, Kyungsoo, son of pack Elder Yifan, commit myself to the hunt. And for the honor of being Joonmyun’s mate.”

He’s left out a word, should have placed the word “omega” before Joonmyun’s name. But that is not what they call him out on.

“You are not eligible, Kyungsoo,” says Jinki from his spot on the platform. He’s seated next to the High Alpha and his mate, Joonmyun just on the other side of them.

Kyungsoo doesn't let his words deter him though. “I believe that you will find that I am, in fact, fully eligible under the laws of our land.”

“You are not an alpha, nor are you a beta.” Kibum says.

“Neither is Krystal,” Yifan points out from his seat on the platform.

The elders all turn their heads to look at him. Murmuring breaks out among the pack members gathered, for he is right. No one had protested Krystal’s participation in the hunt. Even if many of them agree with Jinki, it is clear that they can see the weakness the argument now holds.

Kyungsoo takes advantage of the moment, addressing his next statement personally to Minseok. “I am of age, and I am unmated. Is that not all the law requires, High Alpha?”

The eyes of the assembled crowd turn to Minseok, watching as he weighs his next words carefully. “You are right, Kyungsoo. That is all the letter of the law requires, but you are not a wolf.”

“I am counted in the census. I am the son of Wu Yifan.”

“If I remember correctly, the census counted only two unmated wolves in your household.”

“A number which, as stated by my own father, does not include him. He spoke such words before Elder Jonghyun and omega Baekhyun.”

Now the eyes of the crowd turn to Jonghyun, looking for him to confirm Kyungsoo’s words. He doesn't admit it as such, but everyone knows that Yifan has long refused to take a new mate despite his own having passed away many years ago. Most of the pack would, and do, believe Kyungsoo's statement. Jonghyun chooses to deflect instead, but everyone sees it as a confirmation anyway. “But what will you hunt with?” 

“This is true,” Minseok says. “Your bow and arrows cannot be used in such a hunt as this.”

“Why not? Did you not use a bow and arrow when you hunted for the right to mate Luhan?” Minho asks.

The information is a surprise for Kyungsoo, but a welcome one nonetheless. His heart had sunk at the thought that he wouldn't be allowed to use his bow and arrows, for how could he ever hope to win without them?

“That hunt was largely just a formality. And he asked for an elk as proof of my devotion. How else was I to kill one by myself?”

“Even so,” says Yifan, clearly fighting for the right of his son to participate. “You yourself set such a precedent. Are you going to reverse it now?”

Minseok takes his time in making his decision. He looks at each of the six members of the Elder Council in turn. Jinki, Kibum, and Taemin seem to be against it. But Jonghyun, Minho and obviously Yifan are for it. It’s an even split, Kyungsoo figures, and so the deciding factor ultimately rests with Minseok, with the High Alpha. With Joonmyun’s father. 

The entire pack is waiting for his decision, but Kyungsoo doesn’t let his apprehension show on his face. He keeps it passive, keeps it blank and void of emotion. He needs to be steadfast, needs to prove himself strong if he hopes to convince Minseok that he could even hope to be a good mate for his son.

The alpha looks to his own son, no doubt looking for a sign. But the omega's face is also passive and void of emotion. Minseok must make the decision on his own.

“You are counted as being of age and without a mate, Kyungsoo. Therefore, according to our laws, you are eligible, as is your use of a bow and arrow.”

When the answer comes, Kyungsoo doesn’t even betray any sign of relief. But what happens next surprises everyone, for no one could have guessed that it would have happened. Certainly not Kyungsoo. After witnessing both private conversations between his brother and Joonmyun, albeit from afar, it’s the last thing he would have expected from the omega. But it seems that Kyungsoo’s courage at challenging the status quo has spurred the omega to make a challenge of his own.

“High Alpha Minseok,” Joonmyun says as he rises to his feet on the platform. He moves with all the poise and grace an omega of such royal bloodline would be expected to have, descending the two steps down off the platform to stand amongst the others participating in the ceremonial hunt. “Father,” he says. He unfastens the sash holding his own richly ornamented robe closed and slips it off his upper body. His chest doesn’t bare the traditional paintings of the pack, which speak to the spontaneity in his decision. It is only because of Kyungsoo that he is doing this, only because he has witnessed someone dare to defy conventions, even while using them for his benefit.

Kyungsoo cannot help but be proud of what Joonmyun says. He knows that he does not really want to mate the victor of the hunt, he knows that he doesn’t really want a mate at all, for why else would he hold off for so long. But Joonmyun opens his mouth and takes his fate into his own hands, takes it back from those that tried to take it away from him.

“I too am of age and currently unmated, as counted among the census. I will also take part in the hunt today.”

“Joonmyun,” his father says. “You cannot participate. It is your hand they seek after. You must fulfill your duty to the pack.”

“I am not saying that I will not fulfill my duty. I am simply asking for the chance to compete amongst my brothers and my sisters for the right to choose. Whatever the outcome, whoever wins tonight, I will accept their hand as my mate. But should providence deem fit to crown me the victor, then the decision will be my own.”

Kyungsoo watches with everyone else gathered there, watches as Minseok turns to his own mate. He and Luhan share a look for a brief moment. It’s with an exasperated sigh that Minseok rises to his own feet and looks down at his proud, headstrong, and very capable omega of a son. “You are counted as being of age and without a mate, omega Joonmyun. Therefore, according to our laws, you are eligible.”

As soon as the words are out of his mouth, Joonmyun turns to look at Kyungsoo. There’s a half smile on his lips, it makes Kyungsoo hope that maybe Joonmyun won’t have to settle after all. A part of him wants Joonmyun to win. But an even bigger part of him wants to be the one who wins the hunt, he wants to prove to everyone once and for all that he belongs here. And most especially, he wants to prove to Joonmyun that they belong together.

-

There’s a twelve-point buck somewhere on their pack’s territory. Kyungsoo has watched it grow over the years, knows it’s the same one because of its distinctive markings on its neck. Most bucks don’t live long enough to grow such a large set of antlers, but this one has somehow managed to do so. He figures it’s his best shot at winning the hunt. Its horns would make an impressive piece on the walls of anyone’s cabin, the envy of many.

He’s watched the buck’s movements over the last week so he knows where it frequents. The moment the hunt actually starts he makes a beeline for a perch in the trees that he’s built. It’s near the stream that he’d been found when he was younger, he can just make it out through all the trees. The buck had routinely passed by the area over the past few days and Kyungsoo had made sure to spend at least an hour there every day so that his scent doesn’t deter the buck from approaching. But the activity of so many other wolves in the forest must have spooked him, for Kyungsoo waits and waits for hours all without the buck making a single appearance. He’d seen a buck with six points, but that was hours ago.

He’s beginning to despair. The ceremonial hunt ends at sundown, and with that being just over an hour away, he’s beginning to think that he will end up returning to pack empty handed. To have come so far with nothing to show for it, it frustrates him to no end. But he can't give up hope now. He needs to be strong.

Maybe he should have just taken his chances with the six pointer. It wouldn't have won him the hunt, but it would have at least been a respectable showing. Maybe he shouldn't have spent all day just waiting for the buck to pass by. But then he wasn't a wolf, he didn't move like one, couldn't track like one. This is how he’s always hunted. It’s never let him down before. But still, the thought of returning with nothing brings tears to his eyes even as he wipes at them furiously. 

He's so lost in his thoughts he almost doesn't catch it. But years of growing up in the forest has taught him something, even if his senses are not the same as a wolf’s. It's a sudden shift in the stillness of the forest. It is not a good change, there is tension and danger in the air.

Suddenly, the sounds of movement fill the air, sounds of something big rushing through the trees without much heed to its path. Then, over the sounds of rustling and branches snapping, he hears it. The growl of a bear.

He knows this bear too. The entire pack knows this bear. It is Blackjack, so named because of designs on collar that still rings his neck years after having escaped from a circus. Nobody knows what really happened, they can only guess. Some say he was routinely beaten and whipped, some say he was made to fight for the sadistic pleasure of others, and some say he was simply born mad. 

Whatever the truth, no one wants to come across Blackjack in the forest. Blackjack does not honor the laws of nature for he kills simply to kill. He kills on sight, whether he is hungry or not, whether he intends to eat or not. If Blackjack is in the forest, then this hunt has taken a deadly turn.

Kyungsoo debates if he should leave his perch and return to the pack or if he should wait it out. This isn't about his pride anymore. It is about his very life. Where would he be most safe? Among the pack is the obvious answer, for there is safety in numbers. Blackjack has never ventured too close to the settlement. Mind made up, Kyungsoo slings his bow and arrows over his shoulder and begins to make his way down from the perch.

Movement catches his eyes. It's Blackjack, no doubt about it. But what - or God forbid who - is he chasing? Whoever it is, he is going in the opposite direction Kyungsoo wants to go in. It confirms Kyungsoo’s decision to head back to the pack for safety. He picks moves faster, going as fast as he can without losing his footing and plummeting to the earth below. But just as he's about to dip down far enough to completely lose his lines of sight, his eyes catch something that stops his heart cold.

White.

Blackjack is chasing after a white wolf. It's not a terribly uncommon color, there are a handful of wolves in the pack have that coat. But Kyungsoo’s mind does a quick tally of the wolves who had entered the hunt. Only two would have a white coat, Sehun and Joonmyun. The bottom of his stomach gives way, because he knows with 100% certainty which of the two Blackjack has made his prey. Joonmyun.

He doesn't even think about it, doesn't even second guess himself. He moves with a quickness and sureness of steps that he's never known he'd possessed, down the branches of the trees to earth below, and then towards the stream, towards Blackjack, and towards Joonmyun.

A howl pierces the air. Joonmyun’s howl. Why on earth did he wait so long before sounding an alarm? Kyungsoo unslings his bow and draws an arrow to it even as he's running. He thinks of nothing but the need to defend Joonmyun, the need to save him from a bear caught in perpetual bloodlust.

It feels like forever before the stream comes into view again. He rushes out of the tree line and swings around wildly, looking for Joonmyun. He hears something behind him.

In the time takes him to turn around, Kyungsoo hears a painful crunch followed by a thud mere moments later. “Joonmyun!” he cries out.

Joonmyun is lying on the ground, his head lolling about in a daze. Blackjack lets out another roar and starts to lumber over to the prone wolf.

Kyungsoo raises his bow and lets out an arrow, and then two more in quick succession. They hit their mark, the shoulder and flank of the bear. But they are nowhere close to being kill shots. Not on a bear so large as Blackjack. But at least they serve to draw the bear’s attention away from the Joonmyun, who is only just beginning to come back to his senses.

Kyungsoo opens his mouth and lets out a shout. A shot to the heart would be best, but he needs to get Blackjack to raise his head, needs to get him to show his neck and chest so that he can do so. Alerted to his presence, Blackjack turns towards the human, but does not raise his head. Instead he lowers it and charges.

Kyungsoo lets another arrow fly, hoping to hit him in the skull as he runs towards him. But Blackjack’s movements are so erratic that it ends up in his shoulder. He briefly rears up and lets out a roar, but Kyungsoo can't get another arrow notched and aimed in time before the bear turns his head and lets out a growl of pain.

Joonmyun has gotten to his feet and has made an attempt at attacking. It's madness, for Joonmyun is just a single wolf, and a small one at that. How could he even think he’d be enough to take down a bear the size of Blackjack. Even if Blackjack were normal and not blood crazy it would take at least three wolves. 

“Joonmyun, stay back!” Kyungsoo says.

But Joonmyun does nothing of the sort. He tries to attack again, barely getting a hold of the bear’s leg before being knocked away by his large paws. Kyungsoo lets another few arrows fly. But they do little if anything to deter the bear. It's as if they are mere scratches that can be ignored, just like the ones that Kyungsoo had obtained in his rush to find Joonmyun.

Kyungsoo runs closer and reaches back for another arrow. He knows without looking that his last, experience has taught him to keep track of such important things. He needs to make it count. All he’ll have left is his small knife afterwards.

Joonmyun takes a hit to his face by a well-aimed swing of Blackjack’s paw. The force of it sends him flying back and Kyungsoo feels his heart break at the sound the impact makes. He rushes to place himself between Joonmyun and the enraged bear.

Blackjack raises himself onto his hind legs and lets out a menacing roar, mouth open wide in his anger. It's so big it would probably fit Kyungsoo’s whole head. He’s close enough now that Kyungsoo can see his eyes clearly, but they are not clear at all. They are cloudy and seemingly unfocused in the creature’s bloodthirst. Kyungsoo takes aim and lets the last of his arrows fly.

It hits the bear square in his chest. But the effect is the same, nothing. Blackjack brings himself down with all his might, and Kyungsoo knows that he intends to maim them, either him or Joonmyun behind him.

Kyungsoo makes a choice. Or rather, it isn't much of a choice at all. He doesn't know why he was so worried before. Why he had no answer for his father yesterday. Yes, he wanted Joonmyun for his own, wanted him as his friend and to take of care for the rest of his life. But as he watches Blackjack’s paw come down claws extended, he knows it's so much more than that. He was in love with Joonmyun. That’s why he didn’t like the thought of Joonmyun mated to someone else. That’s why it made him so angry. That’s why he wanted Joonmyun for himself. That’s why everything within him screamed with the need to protect him from danger. And that’s why he doesn’t even hesitate to turn and throw himself over the prone figure of the one he loved.

The sound that echoes as Blackjack makes contact with Kyungsoo’s back is sickening, as is the sound of his flesh being torn away when he draws his claws back. Kyungsoo grits his teeth to keep from crying out in pain. He tries to force a smile onto his face, tries to show every bit of love that he feels. Even in his wolf form, Kyungsoo can see the sheer terror that is pulsing through Joonmyun’s eyes. He wants that to go away, he wants to save and protect his love.

“I love you, Joonmyun,” he whispers out.

And then he pushes himself onto his unsteady feet, his right hand drawing forth his knife from where it’d been strapped to his pant leg. He turns around to face Blackjack, holds out his knife in front of him, and charges. He’s vaguely aware of Blackjack inflicting his own damage to him, the bear’s reach is longer than his own. But all he focuses on is what he needs to do to save Joonmyun. He slashes with one hand. With the other he pulls the arrow from where it’s buried in the bear’s chest.

He stabs both his knife and broken arrow back into the bear, and Blackjack topples over him, trapping him beneath his large form.

“Kyungsoo!” he hears. It sounds like Joonmyun. He must have shifted into a human. But it’s all so hazy that it could be his imagination.

“I love you,” he whispers again.

And then darkness.

 

 

 

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-

It’s been a week since the evening of the Ceremonial Hunt for the right to make omega Joonmyun, eldest son of Minseok, High Alpha of Exo of the Eastern Essem. A week since that ill-fated night. By now there should be laughter and happiness in the air, for the pack should be celebrating. They should be counting down to the next full moon when the ceremony that would formally bind Joonmyun and the victor as mates would take place.

But no victor had been declared that evening. Blackjack’s unexpected attack through the pack’s territory had made sure of that.

Chanyeol had been the first on the scene, leaving behind the elk he’d managed to bring down. But by then it’d had all been over. Blackjack lay dead, even if Joonmyun kept picking at the bear’s body, trying to move it. The omega was hysterical, and totally oblivious to his own injuries. When Chanyeol had reached out to pull him away, Joonmyun had let out a wail so piercing that it froze the hearts of everyone who heard it. He was sobbing so hard he could barely breath. 

Chanyeol took bruised and bloody omega in his arms, forcing him away from the dead bear to hold him closely, hoping that his alpha scent would calm him down. It did, somewhat. But no sooner did all the adrenaline leave his body did he pass out.

It wasn’t until Yifan and the other Elders had arrived at the scene that they realized what really happened. Yifan, the one who had raised Kyungsoo from when he was but a toddler was the one who puts it together. He could smell it. No matter how much the scent of Blackjack’s spilled blood taints the air, he’d recognize that scent anywhere. He immediately went to lift the body of the bear, and what he found forced out a wail of his own.

That was a week ago, and life has begun to move on for most of the pack. As it should, for the pack needs to go on survive. But for Yifan, for Chanyeol, for Minseok, and a few others, it hasn’t quite managed to do so. For them, the only thing that’s changed is that Joonmyun is conscious now, at least for moments in time. There really isn't anything wrong with him physically. It had taken a while, long enough to worry everyone, but by the third evening Joonmyun’s wolf side had finally begun to show itself and his quick healing abilities had manifested. But mentally and emotionally, the poor omega had not yet recovered. During moments that he was awake, Joonmyun would often shift into his wolf to avoid having to talk to anyone.

And as for Kyungsoo…

Very little had changed since that first night when Yifan had carried the lifeless body of his son back to the pack. Minho and Minseok had to physically restrain him so that the omega healers could do their thing. But even after they’d clean up his bloody body, sewn up his torn skin, and applied all the healing salve they could, the boy had just laid there in his bed, unmoving and unchanging.

A part of Yifan wishes that he could go back and forbid him from entering the hunt. But it had meant so much to him, so much to a boy who was just trying to find his place in the world. Yifan had always known where it was. It was right here with his family, with the pack where Kyungsoo had grown up in. Why others in their pack couldn’t see it was beyond him. Kyungsoo may not have been born a wolf, but he belonged here just as much as the rest of them. Yifan would murder anyone who would dare refute him, especially now.

“Don’t you think he’s a little squished?”

Yifan’s too exhausted to be surprised by the unexpected voice. He just turns around to see Minho standing over his shoulder and then back to look at the three figures squeezed onto the bed. Kyungsoo lay in the middle, on his side to keep the pressure off his back, but otherwise no change since that first night. To his right lay Joonmyun in his wolf form, curled up and snuggled against the human. On the other side lay Chanyeol, curled up as best as he could behind his little brother. It was Chanyeol’s idea, said it might help. And at least for Joonmyun it probably did. He seemed slightly less fearful next to Kyungsoo, albeit still worried he would never wake up.

“He’s fine,” Yifan says.

“When’s the last time you’ve eaten anything?” Minho asks.

“This morning,” he says. But he second guesses himself long enough to hesitate in his answer. It’s enough for Minho to force him onto his feet, calling in Baekhyun to watch over the sleeping patients.

The young omega had taken to hovering outside their cabin and being conveniently underfoot lately. Were Yifan not preoccupied with other matters he’d wonder why that was. But right now, he’s more concerned with keeping watch over his sons, one to make sure he kept breathing, and the other to make sure he didn’t break down in guilt. It’s irrational, he knows it too, but no one else can do it, because this is Yifan’s family, and no one else can do it right. 

“Elder Yifan,” Baekhyun says cautiously, once he’s fully into the room. He’s looking down at the three occupants in the bed. “Did you move his arm?”

Yifan walks back over to the bedside to take a closer look at Kyungsoo’s arm. He’d just assumed that Joonmyun had wormed his way under it in an attempt to get as close to possible to the human. But now that he really looks at it, there’s a tightness to Kyungsoo’s arm, a possessiveness in its embrace that could only mean Kyungsoo himself had moved it, drawing the sleeping Joonmyun closer to him.

“He’s alive,” Minho says, tone full of disbelief. And really, Yifan thinks, there are other words that Minho could have used besides “alive,” but he understands what his friend means.

“Your boy’s a fighter,” Minho says, this time with a tone of admiration instead.

“Of course,” Baekhyun says, answering before Yifan could. “He’s got the heart of a wolf.”

Yifan nods his head, smiling even as tears begin to stream down his face. He couldn’t have put it better himself.

-

The pack is alive with all the revelry of a seven-day feast. It wasn’t officially a seven-day feast, but many had started celebrating the mating early, and many would continue after tonight’s official portion comes to an end. That’s not the way it’s supposed to be, tradition dictates that such mating festivities only last a mere three days. But Minseok really had no one to blame but himself. He’d been so happy that Joonmyun was finally getting mated that he’d declared a week-long celebration in his honor. They’d also had to celebrate the closing of the ceremonial hunt since they’d skipped it that night, for obvious reasons of course. Then there was the small matter of officially recognizing Kyungsoo as a full-fledged member of the pack. Combining all those things into a single event meant extending the festivities.

Of course, once precedent had been set, Minseok could hardly go back and change his mind. Thus, here they were, four days into celebrating his son Jongin and Krystal’s mating ceremony, with three more to follow.

Kyungsoo honestly doesn’t remember much of what took place over the seven days of his own mating celebration. Once Kyungsoo had regained full consciousness two weeks after the hunt, the Elder Council had been adamant that they stick to the prescribed schedule and hold the matting ceremony on the first full moon after the ceremonial hunt. Most of what Kyungsoo remembers is his body constantly aching and tiring out easily.

But he remembers the actual formal ceremony. He remembers it in every vivid detail. Joonmyun had looked so handsome, a perfect angle dressed in the mating robes of an untouched omega. Kyungsoo had been dressed in the mating robes of an alpha, and no one had dared tell him he couldn’t, not even Sehun, the alpha who had technically won the hunt with an eight-point buck. Chanyeol’s elk had been bigger, at least as far they could tell when they found it having been scavenged a few days later, but he hadn’t brought it back to bonfires of the pack as the rules of the ceremonial hunt stated. But it was an unspoken understanding by everyone that a bear won over whatever any other competitor might have returned with. Everyone knew, it was Kyungsoo who had won the hunt, no matter what the rules might have stated.

“Papa, up-up!” cries a little voice. It breaks Kyungsoo’s attention from watching Baekhyun and Chanyeol awkwardly dance around each other. His brother and the omega had yet to confess their feelings, no matter that they had become so obvious that the whole pack knew of them. Instead, Kyungsoo turns to look at the toddler standing on unsteady legs next to him and reaches down to heft him into his arms. He squeezes his son tight enough make him squirm.

“Seokjin!” Joonmyun’s worried voice sounds. “Don’t run away from me like that.”

Kyungsoo looks up to see Joonmyun coming towards him with their other son perched on his hip. He sits himself down next to Kyungsoo and switches Taehyung to his other hip so he can nestle himself against Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo presses a kiss to his mate’s temple and goes back to watching Chanyeol blush at something Baekhyun had said. 

Somedays Kyungsoo can barely believe it. He thinks back on his life just a few years ago, when he’d been nothing more than the human boy that Yifan had taken pity on. But now everything was different. Now he was a full-fledged member of the pack, with all the rights and standing that everyone else had. He’d thought that he was happy after he’d mated Joonmyun, the love of his life. But then Joonmyun had blessed him with twin pups, and no one had been more surprised than Kyungsoo when they’d both turned out to be alphas.

“I think your father might soon be changing his mind about not taking another mate.” Joonmyun says. Kyungsoo looks over at where Joonmyun’s gaze is directed. Sure enough, his father is there, talking with a new addition to their pack. A beta by the name of Zhoumi who’d been left widowed with a teenaged daughter named Victoria. When a blush fills his father’s face Kyungsoo thinks his mate might just be right. He looks back over to the still blushing Chanyeol. Like father like son, he thinks.

“Do you ever wish someone else had won the hunt?” Kyungsoo asks softly, knowing Joonmyun will hear him anyway.

“Of course not,” he answers. “It’s always been you, Kyungsoo.”

Just before they’d mated, Joonmyun had confessed everything. How he’d never taken a mate because he’d always been in love with Kyungsoo. How he’d begged Chanyeol to enter the hunt because while he couldn’t stand the idea of being mated to anyone else, if he had to he wanted it to be someone he could trust. No one had been more relieved and more thankful than Joonmyun when Kyungsoo had finally opened his eyes after the attack.

“You could have had the hand of anyone else in the pack, any alpha, any that wolf you wanted.”

Joonmyun turns to look him straight in the eyes. “You have the heart of an alpha. That’s enough for me.”

Even if he already believed it, even if he already knew it was true, the love and devotion that Kyungsoo finds in Joonmyun’s eyes makes him fall in love all over again. And this time deeper still.


End file.
